Lock your wishes to Northampton's golden heart and support the Guide Dogs for the Blind

A giant golden mesh heart has appeared outside a Northampton gift shop for customers to add wishmaking padlocks and raise money for charity.

Locks and wishtags for the new "lovelock" point can be bought from the Bias Gift Shop, in Market Walk Shopping Centre, with proceeds going towards the Guide Dog for the Blind Charity.

It has been named the "Look Into Your Heart" project and will have an official launch outside tomorrow at 10.30am.

Majid Riahi, who designed and built the heart, took over Bias gift shop in September and says he has set out to bring generosity and kindness to Northampton.

He said: "The structure is essentially a space to make wishes and express all forms of love via the locking of a padlock or “wish tag” onto it. These locks and wish tags can be obtained from Bias and the money raised will go to charities very close to our hearts.

"Now I am hoping with your help we can turn this into an admirable, loving point of our community.”

Wishes and thoughts can be written on locks and tags and attached to the heart along with a donation to the charity.

Councillor Christopher Malpas, who supported the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity during his year as Mayor of Northampton, will be at the launch tomorrow with three serving guide dogs, Verity, Jarvis and Bruce.

He said: "I think it's something where people can express their wishes and help out a charity. It's a way of promoting guide dogs for the good they do and fund the next generation of dogs."

Mr Riahi said: "Since I have taken over the gift shop, it has become obvious to me that most of our customers are kind-hearted people who have the intention of visiting us to make others and their loved ones happy.

"This caused me to wonder if it would be possible to turn this generosity and kindness into something that could bring our community closer together, while helping me to fulfil my long-lasting dream of helping the Guide Dog for the Blind charity. This is why I set out to design, build, and pay for Northampton’s first charitable lovelock point."